Assessing the Knowledge and Attitude of Nurses Regarding Cervical Cancer Screening in a Public Hospital of Lahore

Abstract

Cervical cancer is a fatal illness that strikes women all over the world. In developing countries, it is the leading cause of cancer mortality among women. Objective: To Assess the Knowledge and Attitude of Nurses Regarding Cervical Cancer Screening in a Public Hospital of Lahore.  Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was conducted to collect data from 122 registered nurses of Sir Gangaram Hospital, Lahore. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire to obtain data about knowledge and attitude of respondents about cervical cancer screening. Data was analyzed through SPSS V.21 using descriptive statistics. Chi square test was applied. Results: A total of 122 nurses participated in the study. From 122 total respondents, 45 (37%) were aged between 25-30 years and 67(54.9%) had more than 5 year of work experience. 55(44.3%) had diploma nursing and 62 (50.8%) had less than one year of work experience in gynae. Hypothesis testing (p=0.192) shows that mean age has no significant association with participant’s knowledge. While Job experience and education revealed statistically significant associations with participant knowledge (p=0.04 and p=0.003).  Similarly, age also has no significant association with participant’s attitude (p=0.384). Job experience and education, on the other hand, exhibited a statistically significant relationship with participants' attitudes (p=0.006 and p=0.000). Conclusions: It is concluded that there is no association between age of participants and cervical cancer screening knowledge and attitude. Similarly, as participants' educational and work experience levels rise, their knowledge and attitudes concerning cervical cancer improve.